


Keeping Tally

by wanderingalonelypath



Series: Fair Game Week 2020 [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Fluff, M/M, The usual Qrow angst over his semblance, some Jaune/Marrow if you squint because i love them, some fluffy Fair Game relationship hc's
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:54:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23174263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wanderingalonelypath/pseuds/wanderingalonelypath
Summary: The first time Clover flirted with him, his semblance was already in the process of ruining things. As usual.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Series: Fair Game Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1665913
Comments: 14
Kudos: 62





	Keeping Tally

The first time Clover flirted with him, his semblance was already in the process of ruining things. As usual.

One would think that a trained Huntsman with 30+ years of experience would be able to not trip over nothing, but Qrow was well-used to his semblance breaking any and all rules he thought were immovable. Nevertheless, Qrow could only be pulled back up as Clover caught him, helping him find his feet in a way that left their faces centimeters apart. A heartbeat passed where everything was silent, and all he could see was the deep, deep teal of Clover’s eyes, so close to his own. Then he was walking away, scanning for their target, and all Qrow could do was give himself a half-hearted scoff.

So maybe that wasn’t technically flirting, but whatever.

The second time Clover flirted with him, it was right after his semblance nearly killed the Ace Op. As if the universe itself was warning Qrow: bad idea. You know what happens to the people you care about. Haven’t you nearly killed the kids enough times to learn that lesson? Or does he need to die too? So whether it was guilt or something lighter, something sharper driving him, he was telling Clover about his semblance before he could stop himself.

And Clover, well…

First, he thought he was being dismissive. He was almost crushed by a falling beam, a beam Qrow knew was all his fault, and was carrying on as if nothing had happened. And then Clover had effortlessly found them a way down, and he was revealing his own semblance, and all the breath left Qrow’s lungs, leaving him staring after the other man in shock. The semblances were _mirror-images _, exact opposites of each other. And that traitorous voice that always sounded a bit like Summer piped up in the back of his head:__

__'Maybe this one will be different. Maybe he’ll be safe.'_ _

__He lost track after that. Lost track of the winks and salutes, of the sudden rainstorms and broken glasses, of the lingering touches and the stubbed toes, the sudden trips and the rare lingering hug._ _

__Qrow found that he was dropping the running tally of guilt in his head whenever something went wrong on a mission. When a tire popped or a shot missed on a supply run his mind didn’t go to ‘misfortune’ or ‘my fault’. Instead, it followed Clover and his easy shrugs and beautiful grins, and Qrow was soon wholeheartedly agreeing with the Ace Op’s assessment that it was just one of those things that happened sometimes, and maybe life isn’t all good all the time. And maybe that was okay._ _

__He let himself lose track of what his semblance caused because he was finding all he wanted to think about nowadays was Clover’s small smile when he didn’t deflect a compliment, or the wrinkles around his eyes when Qrow managed to get him to give a full belly laugh with his head thrown back. The proud look on Clover’s face when Ruby and Weiss pulled off a combo move in combat that he helped them perfect._ _

__The way he always fell asleep curled into Qrow but woke up on his stomach, sunlight from the cracked curtain tangling through his hair, pointing out the touches of gray around his temple. Clover’s hands on Qrow’s hips as he made them both coffee, muttering his schedule into the back of Qrow’s neck._ _

__Instead of looking away with a pit in his stomach when Jaune managed to spill his and Marrow’s coffee all over the floor that morning, he found himself chuckling along with the rest of his kids and teammates, catching Clover’s eye and returning his wink as they got ready for another day of saving the world._ _

**Author's Note:**

> And so begins Fair Game Week 2020! Super excited to put out my other fics as the week goes on! Let me know what y'all think!


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